Page 30 of Deceptive Vows
He took the dish and set it on the table before holding my chair for me. I coulddo it myself. I always did. But letting him pull out my chair didn’t cost me anything—and strangely, it felt... good.
As he took his seat next to me, I leaned in. “I had venison flown in from a small farm in Russia. It’s supposed to be the best as far as taste.”
“Venison?” He covered my hand with his. “Thank you for taking the time to make this for me. I’m sure it will be wonderful.”
The amount of gratitude he showed made me want to do more for him. What other ways might he show thanks? Kisses… maybe, among other things. Excitement bubbled in my chest as I waited for him to try the dish. It’d taken considerable effort to make it, and I wanted it to be delicious.
It felt like it took forever before everyone had their plates filled and ready to begin eating. Nazar’s moan as he bit into the first dumpling filled me with a delight I didn’t know possible.
“It’s incredible. Pasha will be jealous when he finds out I had pelmeni.”
“There’s more in the kitchen. I wanted to make sure I had plenty. You can take some home with you,” I said.
Nodding, he stabbed another dumpling. “He’dlove it, but he was forced to return to New York this morning.”
“Oh, I hope everything is okay.” If the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t offer any information, so I certainly wasn’t going to ask for any.
“I’ll tell you more later.” He held my gaze. “Okay?”
A silent understanding passed between us. We were a team, and teammates trusted one another. “All right.”
The meal was fantastic, as usual. It was a given with Aunt Helen at the helm. A few of the recipes she made were Ma’s. She’d always kept a worn hand-painted olive wood box filled with recipes, mostly handwritten ones, and several cut from newspapers.
The first time Ma ever pulled it out, she’d opened it, and the room had filled with the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg. Curious, I’d asked, and she’d laughed that she’d once spilled pumpkin pie spice in it and had never been able to get the smell out.
Secretly, when I missed her, I’d return home, pull it out, open it, and sit with it while talking to Ma. Aunt Helen caught me acouple of times because she had moved in to help us take care of Ma when she got sick.
More than once, Aunt Helen and I leafed through the recipes and cooked while she told me stories of them growing up. These memories and moments made me even more appreciative and grateful that Lucas was the one who found me.
Blessings. Good luck. Fortune. I wasn’t sure what I believed in that regard, but I couldn’t have picked a better family.
“It’s still hard without my father.” Nazar draped his arm across the back of my chair as he came closer. “It’s been seven years, and to this day, anytime there is a holiday or event, I want to call him. To turn around and find him.”
I don’t know why, but I leaned into him. “Time heals all wounds, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t scars.”
“Nyet. But you can find a balm to ease the pain, render the scars bearable.”
“Yes.” I didn’t let people in. I wasn’t just crunchy on the outside, as Claire would say. I was simply crunchy. My bark and my bite were the same. But this man. He had a way of throwing me out of sorts.
I rested my right hand atop his and curled myfingers around it. Mutual comfort? These emotions he pulled from me were foreign.
Alley rat. I encased myself in ice because as long as I was frozen, I couldn’t be hurt. Some would call it a trauma response. A coping mechanism. I called it surviving. Once Gianna was murdered, it was as though we’d realized our true purpose. Ma asked us to avenge her death and to prevent any other family from experiencing our pain.
“Maybe we could spend a little time together later this evening? Take a walk?” The question was wrapped in a quiet vulnerability.
I was set to say no, but before I could reverse course, I replied, “I’d like that.” Would I? My head wanted me to keep my distance, but my heart was desperate for his presence.
Heat pooled low in my stomach when his lips lifted in a smile. My willingness to spend time with him had made him happy. The thought of being the source was new and strange. Comfortable. As if his happiness enriched my own.
“I enjoyed spending time with you last night.”
“Well, we are about to be engaged, so I think that’s required.” I chuckled.
Shaking his head, he letout a soft laugh. “Maybe, but as luck would have it, it’s effortless.” He lifted his head, his eyes locking with mine. “I never thought a woman like you would walk into my life. One so intelligent, interesting…deadly. Beautiful.”
In the past, men had called me all these things. Well, not the deadly part, or if they did, it was meant as an insult. The way Nazar spoke of my qualities, he liked that one best. “Well, I guess we’re both lucky then. This has been fun.” I wouldn’t say any more than that.
I was positive he said these things so that my family would overhear. While Aunt Helen understood our ways, I still had to sell this. I trusted her not to tell anyone, but I needed her to believe it so others would as well. Plus, as much as I loved my cousins, they were motormouths.
